Department / Area: Commercial
Reports to: Commercial Director
Location: Utilita Bowl & Hilton Southampton
Utilita Bowl, Botley Road, West End, Southampton,
SO30 3XH
The Role
This is a senior commercial role at Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl, focused on driving sponsorship growth and leading the partnerships sales strategy across both domestic and international cricket, while supporting opportunities around Southern Brave where appropriate.
With a major events calendar and the venue heading into a historic Ashes year in 2027, this is a unique opportunity to deliver high-value partnerships for leading brands and maximise one of the biggest commercial moments in English cricket. Working closely with the Commercial Director and senior leadership team, the successful candidate will lead new business activity, build long-term partner relationships, and thrive in a fast-paced, ambitious environment.
Key Responsibilities
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Develop and execute a partnership sales strategy to maximise sponsorship revenue site wide and across all formats of the International & Domestic game.
- Support where appropriate the partnership sales of Southern Brave
- Lead the full sales process, from research and prospecting through to proposal development, pitching, negotiation and contract closure.
- Secure significant new commercial partnerships at local, national and global levels, creating bespoke packages tailored to partner objectives.
- Collaborate with the Partnerships Manager to ensure seamless delivery of rights and activation for new partners.
- Work closely with the community team to identify specific partnership opportunities across the recreational cricket sector.
- Build and manage strong relationships with senior decision-makers across multiple industries, ensuring a consultative approach to partnership development.
- Deliver accurate sales forecasting, set revenue targets and monitor performance against KPIs.
- Keep abreast of industry trends, marketing innovation and competitor activity to identify new opportunities.
- Represent Hampshire Cricket and Utilita Bowl at key meetings, networking events and industry forums.
- Work with external agencies and third-party sales partners where relevant to support lead generation and campaign delivery.
Experience and Qualifications
Essential:
- Proven experience in sponsorship sales, business development or commercial partnerships within sport, live events or media.
- A strong track record of securing six- and seven-figure partnerships with leading brands.
- Excellent negotiation and pitching skills, with the ability to build compelling commercial proposals.
- Experience of managing senior relationships and working with stakeholders across different sectors and geographies.
- Highly commercial mindset with the ability to identify and convert new revenue opportunities.
- A self-starter, someone who can manage independently the entire end to end of the partnership sales process
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Flexibility to work evenings and weekends for matchdays and major events.
Desirable / Preferable:
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Previous experience in cricket, sport or live entertainment environments.
- Knowledge of sponsorship activation and delivery.
- Familiarity with CRM systems and sales tracking tools.
- A passion for sport and live events.
Considerations
All applicants must provide evidence to demonstrate that they have the Right to Work in the UK. Utilita Bowl is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to employment practices and behaviours that encourage diversity, promote equality of treatment and eliminate unlawful and or unfair discrimination.
We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practice across our organisation.
